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12 Grand Finalists make Socceroos squad

Socceroos Head Coach Pim Verbeek has selected a squad of 24 players for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2011 Qualifier match, presented by FOXTEL, against Kuwait in Canberra on Thursday 5 March (kick-off 8.00pm AEDT).

Socceroos Head Coach Pim Verbeek has selected a squad of 24 players for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2011 Qualifier match, presented by FOXTEL, against Kuwait in Canberra on Thursday 5 March (kick-off 8.00pm AEDT).

Twelve players from the Qantas Socceroo squad will be involved in this weekend-s Hyundai A-League 2009 Grand Final where Melbourne Victory host Adelaide United at the Telstra Dome. Each team has six representatives in the squad.

Whilst Fabian Barbiero, Daniel Mullen, Mitch Nichols and Ben Kantarovski have been rewarded for their recent form in the Hyundai A-League with their first call-up to the Socceroos squad. Mullen, Nichols and Kantarovski are all key players for the Qantas Young Socceroos, who will play in the FIFA World Youth Championship later this year in Egypt.

Daniel Mullen-s father, Joe, played two matches for the Socceroos in 1988 against European clubs IFK Gøtenburg & Dinamo Zagreb.

Nikolai Topor-Stanley is the only Qantas Socceroo squad member who hails from Canberra, having graduated from the ACT Academy of Sport and the Australian Institute of Sport, before joining local club Belconnen United at senior level. Topor-Stanley has recently completed a moved to the Newcastle Jets having previously played for Perth Glory and Sydney FC in the Hyundai A-League.

The Socceroos are drawn in Group B of the AFC Asian Cup 2011 qualification stage along with Indonesia, Kuwait and Oman. The top two teams from each group of the qualification stage will progress to the AFC Asian Cup 2011 which will be held in Qatar.

The Socceroos are currently sitting in third position of Group B, with Kuwait in fourth.

- Biggest crowd to see a Socceroos match in Canberra: 15,283 (Australia 0 v Czechoslovakia 4) on 27 January 1980 at Canberra Stadium
- Canberra Stadium opened in 1977, football first played there in 1978
- Canberra hosted 11 football games at 2000 Olympic (5 men-s, 6 women-s)